Monsters Abound
by Amorphis760
Summary: If anyone asked me if I wished to live in a fictional work I would hesitate to say yes. Most fictional worlds would be terrifying to live in and I wouldn't go there unless I had the powers of a God. Unfortunately for me I'm in one of those terrifying worlds with no Godly powers in sight. Welcome to your nightmare. We wish you the best of luck.


I came to with a jolt. Something was wrong but I couldn't quite place what. I scanned the rather austere looking room having absolutely no recollection of ever seeing this place before and for some reason everything looked bigger. "What the fuck?" The sound of my voice made me jump. That was not my voice. That was the high pitched voice of a small child.

Almost reluctantly I looked down to see tiny, tiny hands and I reflexively flexed them. Now, I wasn't prone to panicking but I could see the edges of my vision beginning to blacken. Knowing instinctually that fainting wouldn't be good for me I raised one too small hand and slapped myself across the face as hard as I could. The sound of flesh hitting flesh rang out across the room and my vision cleared as the pain set in as my body switched from flight to fight.

"Ow," my childish voice rang out again as I rubbed at my stinging cheek. It was a good pain though. It made me focus and let me know that this wasn't a dream because you couldn't be hurt in a dream unless Freddy Krueger was after me which I doubted. I shook my head to clear away the errant thought and shakily stood up.

My balance was shit and I fell to the floor almost as soon as I stood up. Hissing in pain as my knees hit the floor I rolled to my side and grabbed them. "Damnit." I froze again as I realized one important fact. I wasn't speaking English. In fact it sounded Japanese? Maybe? One of the Asiatic languages for sure. I let my head fall back onto the floor with a soft thump. 'I've been transported to a new world haven't I?' I thought glumly.

The thought resonated in my head and I knew it to be true. I had read far too many fictions regarding the same phenomenon and far too many fantasy books in my life to discard fanciful notions off hand. Besides, the last thing I remembered before I woke up here was opening the door to my apartment. Unless the government, or aliens, had for some reason decided to shrink me down to a child and implant another language into my head for shits and giggles I would regard this to be true unless presented evidence otherwise. There was also the fact that the air felt alive with energy and I felt the same energy bubbling inside me awaiting release which just cemented my hypothesis for the moment.

As I was laying on the ground a sudden thought came to me and in an almost panic I checked my lower extremities. There were no dangly bits… An inane giggle burst from my lips as I lifted up my pajama bottoms to make absolutely sure. 'Of course I was transported to another world and ended up as a little girl. Why the hell not?'

The giggling had turned more than slightly hysterical as I got off my back and started to crawl towards the window I had noticed earlier despite the pain in my knees. With some difficulty I managed to pull myself up to the window sill and look out to the darkening skyline of wherever I was. The first thing I noticed was the abundant amount of trees that seemed to spring up alongside the buildings. It was almost as if a forest was growing around the village. The second thing I saw was a large mountain with four familiar faces carved into the side that I could see clearly despite the failing light.

My forehead met the cool glass of the window and now my giggles had blown into full blown hysterical laughter. 'Why not? I'm a 24 year old male turned into a little girl while transported to a Death World. Could this day get any fucking worse?'

The world seemed to halt as though drawing a breath before an incredibly thick miasma of pure rage and power crashed into me. Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die. You're going to die is what the miasma all but screamed to me as I found myself shaking like a leaf as my breath caught in my throat. I could only watch as a beast that seemed to fill up the sky appeared right in the center of the village. I could only stare as its roar seemed to shake me down to my very soul. I could only gaze at the sight as one of the Nine Tailed Fox's long, long tails grew every closer as it sped towards the ground. 'Oh… Hello Kurama,' was my last logical thought before its tail crashed down and I couldn't see anything anymore.

I jolted awake my heart going a million miles an hour as I drew gasping breaths of air. All my senses were on overdrive as my eyes darted around taking in everything around me. Everywhere I looked there were children running around screaming, laughing and playing on what appeared to be a playground? A quick glance down confirmed I was still pint sized but my hands were different from before.

I slowly drew my legs to my chest and began to shiver violently. 'I just fucking died from Kurama. I JUST FUCKING DIED FROM A FICTIONAL BEING AND THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO.' I felt something wet drip down my face as my vision grew blurry. "Sweetie, are you okay?"

A soft female voice from my left made me gain a foot of air before I tried to run. I wasn't really operating on all cylinders at the moment and my balance was still shot so of course I fell flat on my face. The pain from the fall did bring me back into focus a bit and I just limply let the woman turn me over as I continued shivering. "What's wrong?" I must have looked truly pathetic because the woman picked me up and held me tightly. "Shh, shh, it's alright. Nothing here is going to hurt you."

She continued that mantra over and over again as she softly stoked my hair. It was… nice and her calm even tone did wonders soothing my battered psyche. Eventually my shivers subsided and I just let myself lay in her arms for a while as I breathed in her cherry blossom scent. I felt her move me away from her and I was able to see her face. She had a head of wavy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes which were currently staring at me in concern. "Are you all right now? What scared you so?"

I didn't know how to answer her. 'Oh it was nothing miss. Just me changing from an adult male to a little girl and then getting crushed by a giant fox tail before waking up here in this park. Yeah, that would go over great.' I thought sarcastically.

"I-" I started to talk but a loud voice seemed to boom down from the heavens.

"Shinra Tensei."

"Fuck." That was the last thing I said before I felt an unbearable force crushed me.

I jolted awake once more with more of a weary acceptance than anything else. I was now in a different room than the first time and glancing down I saw that my hands were different once more. "Fucking Nagato," I whispered to myself as I jerkily stood from my bed and balanced on unsteady legs. I idly noticed that I apparently slept in the nude but I saw some dangly bits between my legs again so I had that going for me. Even if I was still a child. "I have to get out of this death trap of a village." I whispered to myself. Who knew how many more times I would switch from another body until it no longer worked?

I slowly stumbled towards the dresser and yanked it open revealing sets of clothes I could wear. I just grabbed whatever was there and haphazardly threw things on until I deemed myself suitable for public or at least not naked. Finished with my monumental task I made my way to the door only falling once in the process.

The door opened with a creak and I cautiously stuck my head out as I looked both ways. It seemed clear enough and I emerged fully from the room as I carefully closed the door behind me. Now, it was time to get the hell out of here. I had spotted what seemed to be a staircase further down the hallway to my right so I made my way towards it as quickly as I could without falling all over myself.

I made it down the stairs in one piece, although there was a point where I almost tripped and broke my neck. Regardless of my next near death experience, the front door to this place was right in front of me and I swiftly opened it. Oddly enough I hadn't seen any adults in this entire place, other kids yes, but no adults. I didn't really care why though as I fled out the front door and into the street.

Just from a quick glance I could tell that this was still Konoha, the big ass face carvings gave it away, and I set out away from the mountain. It was as good a direction as any and I didn't really care as long as it was away from here. I walked and walked and walked through the streets, trying to keep going the same direction even if the streets weren't straight. I walked for far longer and farther than a young child should have been able to yet I didn't feel tired in the least.

I attributed it to chakra and a quirk of this body but in the end it didn't matter. All that mattered was getting away. Curiously the streets were nearly empty of people but I didn't pay it much mind. In fact I didn't pay anyone any mind at all until an enormous wall was towering above me. It was only then I came out of my daze for long enough to hear what the people around me were saying.

I caught snippets about the Chunin Exams and how they were going on right now at the stadium from the surrounding people. My throat caught and with a sinking feeling in my heart I continued staring at the outer wall of Konoha. 'I'm going to be caught right in the middle of the invasion aren't I?'

The universe answered with a resounding yes as a huge plume of smoke appeared on the other side of the wall. To my mounting horror three humongous snakes rose out of the smoke and seemed to leer malevolently at the village before they charged at the wall. There was a crashing noise as they impacted the wall and in almost morbid fascination I watched the cracks spread along the wall as though everything was in slow motion. All too quickly though huge blocks of reinforced stone flew inwards towards me and there was nothing I could do as one landed on me. Crushing me almost instantly.

I jolted awake in another unfamiliar room. I mechanically scanned it and seeing nothing unusually about it I checked my gender once more. I was a male thankfully so I laid back down and pulled the covers over my head. Making sure I pressed my face as far into the pillow as I could I screamed into the pillow which would hopefully mask the sound enough so that no one else heard it. I screamed until I ran out of breath and then drew ragged breaths until I caught my breath.

'Fuck…' I drew a blank on the person who created Naruto. 'Whoever decided it was a good idea to have Konoha be invaded or destroyed so often. Fuck Murphy or whatever cosmic fluke is causing this. They can all choke on a dick and die. What's next? The Uchiha massacre?'

The thought drew a sharp breath from me and I half rose from beneath my blankets before a sharp bout of apathy brought me back down. 'Does it matter if that's what's going to happen? I had no chance to escape it, outrun it and the thought of even fighting it was laughable. What chance would a child, even with an adult mind, do against battle hardened shinobi intent on killing them? Nothing, that's what.'

The thought of trying to bargain with them with future knowledge crossed my mind but then I discarded it. I probably wouldn't even know they were next to me before they killed me and in all honesty why would they stop to listen even if I talked? Sure I could start spewing out facts like a torrent but it would probably only result in an extended torture until they milked me of everything I knew. After all, a child should have no idea about anything like I knew and if that didn't set up huge red warning flags to them nothing would.

The door creaked and I poked my head out from underneath the covers to see a blood drenched Itachi standing in the doorway with his tanto drawn. Suddenly everything seemed to stop and my eyes began to burn as I felt something warm flow down my face. He gasped before his eyes narrowed. "How did you…" He trailed off and then seemed to shake himself. "It matters not." The next thing I knew he was standing right before me as his hand slowly drifted towards my face. Then there was a terrible pain from first my right eye and then my left before darkness descended and I could see no more. As I raised my hands to clutch my now empty eye sockets I heard Itachi whisper, "Please forgive me." Then there was fire and unbearable heat as I felt myself be incinerated.

I jolted awake and flopped back down onto the bed immediately afterwards. I almost absently brought my hands to my face so I could see the too small hands before I let them fall onto my face. To think for a moment I had the Mangekyou Sharingan before it was plucked from my skull like a fruit to be harvested. I raised my hands in the air before letting them flop to the side. 'I want to go home.' The thought echoed throughout my head. 'I would never want to be here unless I was so powerful I could bend Kaguya over my knee like a naughty child about to be spanked and bitch slap anyone else into submission without fear.'

I rolled over onto my side so I was facing the window. It was night out and I couldn't recall anything bad that happened then in the show that I hadn't already experienced but you never know. A lock of red hair got in my eye and I irritably moved it away which prompted a gender check just so that I would know, male again thankfully, not that it mattered since I would probably die soon anyways.

'No!' I straightened upright. 'I refuse to just let myself die again. I don't know why this is happening but I'll find a way to escape this madness. I'll-' I felt a prick on the back on my neck. '- fucking kill every last person on this miserable backwater planet.' I slumped to the side as whatever poison I was injected with did its work and then I blacked out.

I did not awake with a jolt this time. It was more of a groggy confused daze like I'd had too much to drink and my body was revolting on me. My stomach felt the worst and I could barely manage not to puke. The next thing I knew a sudden light was shined down at me nearly blinding me and I blinked rapidly to clear my vision. I could hear the scratching of pen on paper to my right so with my still watery eyes I turned my head that way. It would probably be more accurate to say that I tried to turn my head but found I could not.

"Test Subject 27. Male, age 3, found to have abnormally large chakra reserves for a child with an imbalance heavily favoring Yin chakra. No bloodline found for this phenomenon but 27 does display an increased regenerative factor that might prove useful with later transfusions. Possible Uzumaki heritage although tests are inconclusive at this moment."

An unnaturally pale face leaned over me as snake like eyes regarded me before Orochimaru grinned widely. I think I could almost see the madness in his eyes as he stared at me and I opened my mouth to scream yet nothing came out but a whistle of air. "Kuhuhuhu. Don't bother trying to scream. I've disabled your voice, for now, so I can work in peace." I tried to do anything, anything at all, but it would seem I couldn't control my body at all. It was like I was merely a passenger along for the horror ride.

I could only watch as he disappeared from my view for a moment and then reappeared with a scalpel. He grinned crazily once more as I felt the beginnings of tears run down my face. "Let's get started with the infusions then shall we?" I felt the sharp incisions as he began to cut me open before I relinquished my tentative hold on consciousness and my eyes rolled to the back of my head.

When I awoke next it was to a wracking pain all throughout my body and I was barely able to roll to the side to vomit. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I didn't have anything in my stomach and ended up dry heaving for a while causing me even more pain. I was barely able to move much less focus so after my tremors subsided I painfully rolled back over onto my back. Not a moment later there was a clicking noise as the door opened and through my tears I saw two people enter with a stretcher.

"Please…" I managed to gasp out before they lifted me, none to gently, from my bed to the stretcher and I passed out again.

I drifted in and out of periods of alertness. I think it was a combination of drugs and pain fueled delirium that kept me from fully coming to all of my senses. All I could do was catch snippets of conversation or gloating in Orochimaru's case as he worked on me. Apparently he considered me his crowning achievement for the moment as it would seem that my body was slowly adapting and integrating the transfusions he gave me. I would clap but I kind of wanted to gouge out his eyes with a rusty spoon, go back in time to fuck his mom, kidnap him once he was born and do the same things he did to me. I blinked at the odd violent turn my thoughts had taken. The pain had twisted my thoughts to a darker path some time ago.

I had also lost all sense of time. There was only pain, sleep or Orochimaru's crazy grinning face to mark that time was still moving at all. Something changed though. Orochimaru implanted one last transfusion and I felt something shift within me like a switch was turned. The chakra within me that had so far lain dormant roared to life as the air around me solidified into a block of ice trapping me within. 'Great. I've got death by biju, Nagato, giant snakes, fire and now ice. I guess I can check that one off the list.'

Towards my peripherals I could see Orochimaru stalking around me acting like a child in a candy store. A bout of rage passed through me and a spike of ice extend out of my prison to skewer him or at least it tried. I didn't even see him move yet he was suddenly on the other side of the room chuckling gleefully even though I couldn't really hear it at the moment. He suddenly stopped and looked upwards as a snarl appeared on his face.

I couldn't hear what he said but he stormed out of the room leaving me alone in my icy prison. 'I need to get out of here.' I thought. Strangely the pain that had been nearly constant since I arrived in this hell hole had largely vanished. It was as though successfully integrating the ice release bloodline had stopped my body from tearing itself apart and I didn't feel the least bit cold even surrounded by ice.

'Now, how to actually get out?' The use of the ice had been instinctual but even now I felt a steady drain coming out of me as I supported the ice around me. I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to concentrate which was unfortunately shattered when I felt the ground shake. My eyes opened quickly and they darted around seeking answers. There were none readily apparent but as the earth seemed to buckle I understood. 'The compound is under attack.'

From who I didn't know but in the darkest regions of my heart I hoped it was the Hokage. Perhaps I could be free. Whatever the case I immediately stopped trying to break free of my icy cocoon. If there was a fight going on, and the buckling floor supported that idea, then I needed something to protect me. A piece of the ceiling broke off and bounced against the ice making my choice the correct one. If my ice hadn't been there it would have hit me in the head.

I closed my eyes again and focused on simply maintaining what was going on. I kept going until I felt the ground stop shaking and I cautiously opened my eyes. I was greeted to the sight of nearly the entire room frozen solid before the door exploded inwards and two blurs materialized near me. I was only able to take in their dark outfits and painted masks before one of them disappeared.

What felt like moments later they reappeared with an old man in a black battle outfit carrying a staff. His eyes were cold and hard as they scanned the room until they landed on me. Then they seemed to soften and I could see a great deal of hurt in them before a wall seemed to fall and I couldn't tell what he was thinking anymore. Regardless this was my one chance to escape this place.

I willed the ice around me to break with all my heart and was rewarded with a cracking noise as my cocoon split and released me. The surrounding ninjas had tensed when the ice cracked but relaxed when they saw what was happening. I was free from the ice but as soon as I was fully free a glowing green light filled my vision and I was knocked unconscious.

~Interlude~ Hiruzen Sarutobi

I leaned back in my chair as I worked a bit of stiffness out of my limbs. The fight between me and my former student had been brief, but brutal, and simply highlighted the fact that I wasn't getting any younger. I hadn't wanted to believe that someone I loved like a son could have done such a thing to the people of Konoha but there was no denying the proof I saw down there.

A small shudder went up my spine as I recalled the twisted remains of all those children. I had been in shock and I suppose I actually would have let Orochimaru escape without a fight if he hadn't attacked after spouting out that his crowning achievement was complete. To my shame he managed to flee and the last reports I had of him were about him fleeing Eastward with his unconscious apprentice Anko. Why he took her I have no idea but she could be innocent of all this so I would order her to be captured if at all possible.

I reached down and pulled out my favorite pipe I kept in a desk drawer. After packing it full and lighting it with a small fire jutsu I took a long draw. 'I'm getting far too old for this job. Being a Hokage is a younger man's job yet there is no one I feel is ready to take the mantle from me.'

My thoughts were interrupted as Wolf appeared in front of my desk and laid down a report on the child that was found entombed in ice. I read through it quickly as Wolf waited for further orders. I sighed as I finished and laid the report to the side as I pondered what to do. The smell of tobacco filled the air as I took another deep draw from my pipe before releasing it.

"Wolf," he straightened to attention at my voice. "I want a squad of ANBU guarding 27 around the clock. When he wakes up I want to know right away. I'm also making how he gained his new bloodline an S rank secret." He gave a slight bow and I dismissed him. Now I have to draw up the bingo book entry for Orochimaru.

~Interlude Ends~

I came awake slowly. It was odd to be awake and without pain for once. 'Wait… without pain? The Hokage!' I jerked myself upright and groaned as my muscles protested the sudden movement. My searching gaze was met with nothing but white walls and the faint scent of cleaning agents. My eyes landed on a closed window and I almost wept at the sight of sunlight streaming through it.

With muscles atrophied from disuse I tried to make my way towards the sunlight but a sudden tugging sensation on my arm stopped me. I looked down and saw I had a needle stuck in my arm that connected to a dripping bag on a pole. Squashing the impulse to rip it out I got up on the other side of the bed and used the pole as a sort of stabilizing agent to slowly make my way over to the window.

The sun's rays felt delightfully warm on my bare skin and being able to see a color other than grey actually brought me to tears. I don't know for how long I stood there but the sound of a polite cough behind me nearly scared me to death. I swung around as quickly as I was able too without sending the pole and myself crashing to the ground and saw the Hokage sitting in a chair that was definitely not there before. He looked almost exactly like he did in the anime with a ceremonial hat with white and red colored robes and a greying goatee. I knew he was the man in charge of an entire village worth of killers and yet all I could see was a kindly old man chewing on a long pipe. 'He's dangerously good at deception.'

"Hello there child. Do you know who I am?"

"The man who saved me." I said quietly. I could try to tone down how I talked but I wanted to be trained. NO! I needed to be trained so I could one day rip Orochimaru's still beating heart out of his chest. Canon? Fuck canon, I wanted revenge and if I died again to be reborn as someone else in this village then I wanted at least enough knowledge to survive for more than 1 day.

Hiruzen looked away for a moment and then focused back on me. "Yes, I suppose that is correct. My name is Sarutobi and I am the leader of Konoha, the village that you are currently in. What is your name?"

I opened my mouth to reply but then paused for a moment. "27." This time I could actually see his flinch but he continued on as though it didn't happen.

"Do you remember your birth name at all?" He inquired softly and I merely shook my head. There was a moment of silence between us as he worked at his pipe before he sighed. "Would you like to choose a name? 27 isn't appropriate."

I thought about calling myself Shiro but in the end I didn't want to associate myself by that name. It would simply call up memories of a time when I wasn't in pain or dying over and over again. No, time for a clean break. "Haru. I want to be called Haru."

Hiruzen seemed to think the name over before nodding. "Born in the spring. A good name for a new start." That's why I chose it. This body, this life, is a new start even if it was an unwanted and forced one. "Now onto other matters." He fixed me with a piercing gaze that seemed like it could see into my very soul.

"I am deeply sorry for what has happened to you but you must make a choice. Do you live the life of a shinobi or will you stay a civilian?"

I wanted to instantly shout shinobi but I held that back with some difficulty. "What will happen if I chose to become a shinobi?"

I think I saw a hint of approval in his eyes before it disappeared and he leaned back in his chair. I wish I had a chair. My legs were starting to hurt from standing up. "If you chose to become a shinobi you'll have several weeks of observation and physical therapy to make sure everything is okay with you and get you back to walking around." I couldn't help my winch at the mention of physical therapy. I was trying to look strong in front of him but it would seem he caught my exhaustion. "Then you will be moved to an apartment with a daily genin team dropping by for the next two months to make sure you can live on your own. Then the team will transition to weekly visits for the next several months and based on how well you are getting on that will increase or decrease appropriately."

He took a deep breath and then continued. "In two years at the age of 6 you will join the Academy and train to become a ninja. From there we'll see. Do you have any more questions?"

Just because I was curious I asked, "What if I want to be a civilian?"

"Then the same things happen but you will go back to the orphanage and hopefully someone will adopt you. I would not recommend that choice as we would be forced to seal your chakra if you do so." Really? That's not a choice at all you bastard it's a threat.

I cleared my throat and leaned against the pole a little more. My legs were seriously starting to hurt. "I would like to become a shinobi."

He smiled at me and for all it seemed like it was filled with warmth I felt cold looking at it. "Good. There is one more thing I have to say before I go. You are not to tell anyone how you received your bloodline, the ice release, under any circumstance. You may tell people that you were a survivor of Orochimaru's experiments though." I nodded slowly and he smiled at me again. "Good. I hope to see you become a wonderful shinobi of the Leaf one day."

With that he stood from his chair and ambled out of the room. As soon as he was gone I slowly made my way over to the bed and carefully pulled myself up onto it. 'I lost a year to that snake bastard. AN ENTIRE YEAR of torture.' I gritted my teeth as I rubbed at my burning legs in an attempt to soothe them. I needed to get stronger quickly but for now I felt waves of exhaustion hitting me and I didn't fight them as they pulled me back to the land of dreams.

The next few weeks were tedious and grueling. They were tedious because I had very little to do or read when I wasn't being put through a regime of tests and physical activity to regain my mobility. It was hard going but it was worth it as I could literally feel myself getting better each session. I could only hypothesize that my chakra was helping the rebuilding and gaining of muscle mass far quicker than I would otherwise. Other than that I finally got to see what I looked like.

The first time I had seen myself in the bathroom mirror I had been startled. The face staring back at me had been gaunt with deep bags under my eyes. I hadn't been able to sleep much as I would often times be awoken by nightmares of my time spent with Orochimaru so I got where they came from. My eyes had actually been a relief to see as they were a similar shade of green to my original eyes but the messy bright red hair was entirely new. I looked away from my reflection as soon as I was done taking my new appearance in and went back to my room where I tried to get some sleep.

I had been tempted to try using my chakra while I was in the hospital but I refrained from doing so. Unless everyone here was incompetent, which I don't believe, then I had a guard or two stationed around me at all times to deter anyone that had hostile intent. They could just as easily be assigned to watch me and report on what I did so I refrained from using my chakra for now. Maybe after I got my own place I could check whether this village had a library or not. Even if it did I didn't expect it to actually hold many useful techniques so I would try to observe Academy students or go to one of the training grounds. That way I could be called a genius for figuring how to copy what I saw and not a freak of nature or something else by knowing things I shouldn't be able to.

The day of my release the Hokage had been there along with a blonde haired individual named Inoichi Yamanaka. He had quite strong facial features and a well-defined jaw but he seemed the most relaxed shinobi I had seen yet. He also seemed to possess a calming nature that put me at ease around him. I labeled him as ultra-dangerous in my mind simply for that and the fact that he could pry into my mind.

We had been introduced to each other before I was told that he would be responsible for my weekly mental health checks. I hadn't liked that at all but there was nothing I could do about it so I agreed to see him at the end of the week. From there I was led to a small apartment with a tiny kitchen, bedroom and bath. I was shown all the appliances around the house and how they worked until there was nothing left to show. From there I was left "alone" to do whatever I pleased until the genin team came later that day.

I amused myself with physical activity and trying to meditate to gain a better understanding of how chakra works. I could "feel" it and manipulate it to some degree but for now it was a largely hit and miss operation where it only sometimes behaved the way I wanted it to. It was frustrating to say the least. The genin team came just after lunch bearing several bags full of perishable goods that they put into the refrigerator. The team itself consisted of two females, one genin and one chunin, and two genin males. Apparently you can be put under a chunin if you don't qualify for elite training under a jonin. The more you know I guess.

All of the genin expressed varying levels of disappointment at having to essentially baby sit me as they cooked me lunch and then later dinner. I made sure I was near enough to see the preparation for both so I could say I picked it up by watching others later. I also made sure to ask about whether there was a place to read scrolls about techniques and the chunin, Aiko, had told me about the public library. Only the barest and lowest techniques could be found there, mostly unranked jutsus and techniques, but if I made it to genin rank they had a section with E to D rank jutsus.

I made that my new goal for tomorrow and after they left I went to bed hoping to get a good night's rest so I could be at my best tomorrow. Alas, it was not to be and I was up before the morning sun after my nightmares had driven me awake. Orochimaru featured prominently in them and with a sigh I got ready for the day. Once I'm up I'm up and it's really hard for me to go back to sleep so I don't even bother trying. After a quick breakfast of cereal and milk I was ready for the day even if the sun hadn't peaked over the horizon yet.

With that done I wandered out of my apartment and headed towards where Aiko had told me the library was. Even if I got there early it would still be good to find it and from there I could explore more of the village. As the sun rose up in the sky I could see blurs rushing through the trees and over the houses. I found the library after getting lost a couple of times and having to ask for directions. It was an unassuming building that didn't stand out at all as a library but luckily it was late enough in the morning that they were open.

The person sitting at the desk waved me through towards the civilian section and I browsed through it until I found a few scrolls on chakra. For perhaps the same reason why I could speak the local language perfectly I could also read the scrolls just like they were in English even though they were character based. I hated the fact that my mind was tampered with but there was nothing I could do now except for grit my teeth and bear with it.

I read through all the scrolls I found on chakra but, as expected, they were woefully lacking in any real depth. The only real thing they told me was the fact that chakra was the mixture of spiritual and physical energy that allowed ninja to be battle wizards. Basically nothing I didn't already know. After several hours of reading I finally found something useful. It was a guide to camping jutsu. I'm not actually sure they could be called jutsu at all and in fact they were more of basic elemental manipulation than anything else.

A flame the size of the tip of your finger, a small ball of lightning to illuminate the surroundings, allowing you to move the earth slightly to form holes, a small breeze to cool you and finally drawing water from the surrounding air to drink. None of the techniques here were even ranked making them even less costly than an E rank but I considered them gold. From these I could work on my elemental manipulation, which should be water and wind due to my bloodline, and my chakra control at the same time. I quickly copied them down and left to go back to my apartment. A genin squad should show up soon so I had to be there for them.

I made it back to the apartment just in time to meet Aiko and her squad. They cooked me lunch and then hung around not doing much as I practiced making a cool breeze around me. So far I wasn't having much success but I was willing to keep it up until I succeeded. During the day Daisuke got so bored he actually started practicing the leaf exercise which I counted as a big success. Now I could start trying it because I could truthfully say I'd seen someone else do it.

After the team left I went outside to gather a couple of handfuls of leaves just in case I accidently burnt them or something. The rest of the evening was spent trying to stick a leaf to my forehead and it progressed slowly. Most of the time it was blown off my forehead so I knew I was using far too much chakra but I was having trouble regulating it which was the entire point of this exercise. After a couple of hours I finally succeeded at sticking the leaf to my forehead and to celebrate I quite that for the day. Then I had a physical workout followed by a bath before bed. For the first time in a while things were looking up.

The rest of the week passed by slowly as I progressed both physically and in chakra control. Now I had no problem sticking the leaf to my forehead but I lost concentration after a while making it fall from my head. I'd have to work on that some more, but for now I had my first appointment with Inoichi. I was led to his house which had a flower shop connected to the front of it.

As I entered he gave me a small grin and a wave while he motioned me to wait as he finished ringing up a customer. "Suzuki," he called into the house after he finished. "Can you mind the shop for a while? I have some business to take care of."

"Of course dear. Just give me a moment." A minute later an older brown haired woman walked out of the back and gave him a peck on the cheek. He smiled at her and beckoned me forwards.

"Haru this is my wife Suzuki. Suzuki this is one of my patients Haru." She regarded me and I could see pity in her eyes as she looked at me but she smiled and greeted me all the same. I did so as well and then I followed Inoichi into the house. We walked to a room filled with books and a variety of chairs. Sitting on one of them was a small girl about 3-4 years old who was reading a scroll as her legs swung back and forth.

"Haru, can you wait here while I get some refreshments?" I nodded as the girl, who I assume is Ino, looked up at me.

"Heya," she chirped at me.

"Hello." She rolled up her scroll and set it to the side before hopping down to the floor and advancing towards me.

"I'm Ino. What's your name?"

"Haru. It's a pleasure to meet you." I didn't like how she was getting into my personal space but I didn't say anything yet. She was only a child and I know they don't know things called boundaries.

"You look kinda pale." I felt a spark of anger at the reminder of my imprisonment but forced myself not to react. "I like your hair though. It's a pretty color. Can I touch it?"

"I-" I didn't get to finish speaking before her hand rose and ran through my hair. I didn't react well at all and jerked away from her tearing a few strands of hair out by the roots in the process.

Hissing in pain I was still able to notice that the surrounding air grew cold enough that Ino's breath started to mist. Backpedaling to gain more space between us in case my bloodline lashed out I stopped when my back hit a shelf. By now Ino had noticed that something was wrong and was looking around with worry. I took a few deep fortifying breaths thinking calm, calm, calm over and over again until I was able to draw my chakra back within my body. When I thought I had a handle on it I turned a piercing glare at her.

"Please, don't touch me without my permission." There was more than a touch of anger in my tone but I tried to get rid of it. She wasn't at fault because I couldn't hold my shit together. If anything I should be angry at myself for almost losing complete control and potentially hurting her.

She shrank into herself a bit and I heard her mumble, "Sorry." An awkward silence fell between us but it was broken when Inoichi walked back into the room carrying a platter with tea cups and a tea pot.

"Oh my," he said as he stepped further into the room. "It seems a little chilly in here today." My eyes trailed over to him and I saw a small smirk on his face. In that instant I knew that Ino being here was some sort of test or experiment. For what I didn't quite know but I didn't appreciate it one bit. "Ino, can you go help your mom out in the shop for a bit?"

"Ok," she said as she fled the room leaving just Inoichi and I behind. Inwardly I groaned. 'Good going you idiot. You scared a small girl. Are you proud of yourself now?' The answer was of course no and as I was ruminating Inoichi set the platter down on a small table while he gestured for me to sit. "Well, let's begin."

With a repressed sigh I sat down across from him. This was going to a long session.

 **Author's Note: So this is a SI into the Naruto world. Some of you may read that and instantly decide to not read any further and that's fine. You do you. For those of you that do I don't have any set update times for this yet. It just came to me as I was writing more for the Root of Darkness and I just had to write it down.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


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